Embalming fluid



Patented Aug. 26, 1941 UNITED STATES .PATENT OFFICE EMBALMING FLUID Hilton Ira Jones,'Wilmctte, 111., assignor to National Selected Morticians, Chicago, 111., a corporation of the District of Columbia No Drawing. Application October 4, 1939, Serial No. 297,809

Claims.

covery that alkyl' esters of dibasicaliphatic and.

aromatic acids are stable in the presence of ordinary embalming compositions e. g. formaldehyde, and that their addition in small amounts to embalming fluids greatly facilitates thepassage of the fluids throughout the body. The esters of the dibasic acids have been found, for example, to reduce the surface tension of embalming fluids, to act as anticoagulants i. e. keep the blood liquid, and to aid in the liquefying of coagulated blood. The importance of these properties which aid in the penetration or passage of the embalming fluid through the capillaries will be apparent .to those skilled in the art.

The alkyl esters suitable for use in the present invention include the esters of the lower alkyl groups, such as the methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl,

amyl, hexyl, decyl, etc. esters. The alkyl groups posesof the present invention have also been I found to improve with the increase in carbon atoms until the chain contains about 5-6 carbon atoms. Investigations, for example, show succinic acid, one of the preferred acids, to be better for purposes of the present invention than the esters formed from malonic acid.

The dibasic aromatic acid groups suitable for use in the present invention include phthalic,

isophthalic. terephthalic, naphthalic, etc. The,

positions of the carboxyl groups around the benzene ring alsoaf fect the properties of the acids.

Investigations, for example, show the ortho acid groups to be best, the para acids next and the 55 phenol, etc. Extensive investigations have shown Parts by weight Water 50 Glycerlne 25 Methanol 25 Phenol 05 Borax 05' Formaldehyde (40 per cent) 200 I meta acids to be the least powerful for purposes of the present invention.

Representative esters preferred for use in the present invention include the ethyl ester of phthalic acid, the-.butyl ester of phthalic acid, the ethyl ester of succinic acid, the iso-amyl ester of succinic acid, etc. Ordinarily the alkyl esters of the 4-6 carbon aliphatic dibasic acids and the ortho aromatic dibasic acids are preferred.

The mono-alkyl esters of the di-basic acids are ordinarily preferred as the di-alkyl esters are relatively insoluble in most embalming fluids.

Further, the alkali metal salts of the mono-alkyl esters are ordinarily preferred to the mono-alkyl esters containing a free carboxyl group. In the aromatic acids'the di-alkyl esters are frequently employed particularly when the benzene ring is provided with a solubilizing group such as sodium sulfonate.

The amount of ester added to the embalming fluid ordinarily varies from 1 to 10 per cent. For most purposes the use of 1 to 5 per cent is suflicientalthoug h the optimum amount which may vary with the type of embalming fluid being used, may readily be determined by experimental test. The following formulae willserve to illustrate the present invention:

Mono-iso-amyl ester of succinic acid or mono-iso-amyl ester of sodium suc- The esters for use in the present invention are stable and remain active in the presence of embalming ingredients. For example, the esters unique anti-coagulant property'is not deleteriously' affected by the presence of formaldehyde,

V ing operation.

and scope of the present invention are intended to be covered by the claims annexed hereto.

I claim:'

1. An embalming fluid containing a smallamount of an alkyl ester 01 a dibasic acid, said ester acting as a blood anticoagulant and facilitating the passage of said fluid through body capillaries and tissues'during an embalming operation.

2. An embalming fluid containing a small amount of an alkyl ester of a dibasic aliphatic acid, said ester acting as a blood anticoagulant and facilitating the passage or said fluid through body capillaries and tissues during an embalming operation.

3. An embalming fluid containing a small amount of an alkyl ester of a dibasic aromatic acid, said ester acting as a blood anticoagulant and facilitating the passage of said fluid through body capillaries and tissues during an embalm- 4. An embalming fluid containing a small amount of an alkyl ester of a 4-6 carbon atom dibasic aliphatic acid, said ester acting as a blood anticoagulant and facilitating the passage of said fluid through body capillaries and tissues during an embalming operation.

5. An embalming fluid containing a small amount of an alkyl ester of an ortho dibasic aromatic acid, said ester acting as a blood anticoagulant and facilitating the passage of said fluid through body capillaries and tissues during an embalming operation.

6. An embalming fluid containing a small amount or ethyl succinate ester, said ester actin as a blood anticoagulant and facilitating the passage of said fluid through body capillaries and tissues during an embalming operation.

7. An embalming fluid containing a small amount of iso-emyl succinate ester, said ester acting as.a blood anticoagulant and facilitating the passage of said fluid through body capillaries and tissues during an embalming operation.

8. An embalming fluid containing a small amount of an alkyl ester of phthalic acid, said ester acting as a blood anticoagulant and facilitating the passage of said'fluid through body capillaries and tissues during an embalming operation.

9. An embalming fluid containing a small amount of ethyl phthalate ester, said ester acting as a blood anticoagulant and facilitating the passage of said fluid through body capillaries and of said fluid through body capillaries and tissues during an embalming operation.

HILTON IRA JONES. 

